RACE FOR THE LID VII
Contest Rules:
1. Whatever the rules are, I can change them any time for any reason, including whim. The purpose of this rule is not to promote chaos, but to preempt wailing, moaning, whining, and griping. Particularly griping.
2. Last year?s Grand Prize winner, Drew Corleone, gets the first pick. He will have until the Official Commencement Time (hereinafter defined) to announce his pick. He will have to pick it outside this thread, because HH is supposed to sticky this and lock it until the Official Commencement Time. I don't know what HH does to sticky things, and I don't want to know.
Last year?s co-ards, Hurricane David, Phil in CS, and David in Jackson, get nothing but glory.
3. Picks below 80 can?t win. Even if they?re right they?re wrong.
4. All posts are in this thread. Posts out of this thread are DQ?d unless I change the rules.
V. Just like last year. The first chooser of the correct number gets the Grand Prize. No one is thereafter precluded from choosing that number, and each other person choosing that number will get Second Prize (hereinafter defined). Obviously, Second Prize is a big step down in glory, honor, and value. Last year, though, the largest cluster of choices was on the winning number. I don?t know whether that was dumb luck or superior knowledge, but I sure liked it.
6. One choice per person.
7. If there are gaps in the high picks, say, between 95 and 162, the high pick gets the gaps down to the next highest pick. This does not work in reverse, i.e., below 95. We all lose if the Astros win fewer than the low pick.
8. The grand prize, of course, is an Astros cap of your choosing from the Shed, and the coveted Derrick Bell, New York Met, baseball card (which must be returned in time for next year's contest) (the ?Grand Prize?). What could be better? Second Prize is an Astros pencil, a gift certificate for a Jame?s Coney Island Chili Pie (small size), or whatever cheap junk at the Shed strikes my fancy (?Second Prize?). I thought the stuff last year was particularly useless, and altogether very cool.
9. NO POSTINGS (OTHER THAN DREW CORLEONE?S) WILL BE ACCEPTED UNTIL THE OFFICIAL COMMENCEMENT TIME, WHICH IN THIS CIRCULAR DEFINITION WILL BE ON OR ABOUT 11:00 A.M., THURSDAY, MARCH 30 (the ?Official Commencement Time?). HH is supposed to open the thread, so get your send button ready.
10. No entries will be accepted after the first pitch on Opening Day. Or thereabouts.
11. Here?s the list of past winners:
2005 Drew Corleone (with Co-Ards Hurricane David, Phil in CS, and David in Jackson)
2004 Andy Zipp
2003 Jim R
2002 no winner
2001 Neil T (See how arbitrary and capricious my rulemaking can be? I didn?t even enter the contest until the 161st game, right after I disqualified the real winner.)
2000 no winner, but one heck of a whiner
1999 Astrobabe
Good Luck!
